Rumor Mills and Mutual Destruction
by AdmHawthorne
Summary: A surprising rumor is going around about Emma and Regina after their first date. Can be read as a stand alone. In the 'Better Option' universe. Followup to 'Wickedly Evil Fire Starter.' Definitely Swan Queen.


**In the same universe as 'Better Option' and 'Wickedly Evil Fire Starter." I guess this is going to turn into a series of shorts.**

**Characters aren't mine. They belong to ABC, Disney, and other assorted entities of importance. I gain nothing from writing these stories but the fun of doing it. Please don't sue me.**

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"We were gone for less than a twenty-four hour period of time," Regina growled out in an irritated, slightly angry voice as she swept through the Sheriff's Station, coming to an abrupt halt at Emma's desk. "Explain to me how it is the entire town seems to think that not only are we dating but are soon engaged to be married."

From her spot at her desk, Emma attempted and nearly succeeded in not spewing most of the coffee she had been taking a drink of as the brunette entered the office. Pushing her chair back, she leaned forward, choking and sputtering. "Do what," she asked between gasps and coughs.

"Really, Sheriff? Must I repeat myself?" Crossing her arms, Regina looked down with a raised eyebrow at the sight of the blonde still trying to recover from gagging on her coffee.

"Well, I'm sorry, Madam Mayor," the younger woman said in a more stable voice while she began cleaning up her mess, "but, it isn't every day you lay that kind of bomb on me. Forgive me if I want you to repeat yourself because I'm really hoping that what I heard isn't what I think I heard."

Regina's tone went from offended to defensive. "And _why_ is that?"

"Stop right there, Regina," Emma cut in before the other woman could say another word. "Do _not_ go there. I'm not implying I'd never consider the idea, but, hell, we _just_ started dating, if you can call it that. We haven't even talked about whether or not we want to be exclusive, let alone if either of us is even _open_ to the idea of getting married." She threw the remainder of coffee along with the soaked paper towels in wastebasket under her desk, scowling when not all of it went in. With a sigh, she slid from her chair and began picking up the mess she had now created under her desk.

"Talk about putting the cart before the horse. I mean, what is up with this town? I realize they're all fairytale characters, but come on." The sheriff sat up, smacking the back of her head against the underside of her desk. With a grunt, she let out a few choice curses, raising a hand to rub at the tender spot as she looked up to the brunette. "If Disney got anything right about the princesses around here it's that they all want to marry either the first man they've ever seen or marry the guy the first time they meet." She rolled her eyes, standing up and then quickly plopping back down into her chair as she let out a long, frustrated sigh. "It's ridiculous."

"You do realize that you, too, are, in fact, a princess, do you not?" The older woman narrowed her eyes, clearly going somewhere with this comment.

Emma huffed. "Can we not?"

"What's the matter, Sheriff? I thought by now you'd have embraced your heritage. After all, I saw you happily dancing with your father just this morning at the diner." The older woman smirked. "It was very charming."

"Okay, first of all," Emma stood up, stepping into Regina's personal space, "he guilted me into that. Second of all, if you saw what was going on, why didn't you step in and make it stop because you know how much I hate being reminded of… _things_, and, third of all, stop using charming puns. It's getting old."

For a long second or two, the women stared each other down, neither allowing themselves or the other woman to step back.

It was Emma who finally broke the tension. With a wave her hand, she again took a seat at her desk. "Regina," she asked in a softer, tired voice, "how could we be so easy with each other in New York and then back at each other's throats here? Why can't we just be," she shrugged, "I don't know… happy with each other and Henry? With the family we're starting to form. Who gives a crap what the rest of the town says?"

The brunette relaxed her stance, moving to lean against the sheriff's desk. "I suppose old habits tend to die hard."

"I don't want to keep doing this thing we do where we just antagonize the hell out of each other all the time. It's starting to wear me down. I'm all for the banter, but this?" Emma shook her head. "This isn't going to get us anywhere. We knew going into this that everyone was going to make this harder than it should be, and we _talked_ about this, Regina. We talked about the rumor mill in this town. You _promised_ me you would come talk to me first before making accusations based on rumors."

"And so I have." Regina made a vague gesture with her hand. "I'm here. I came here to you with this bit of information the moment I was made aware of it."

"Yeah, you came in the door swinging," the younger woman retorted. "That's not how you start a productive conversation, and I know you know that." She ran a hand over her face in frustration. "Look, I figured the rumors would be about you casting a mind control spell on me or suckering me into drinking a love potion or something. Getting married after our first real date was the _last_ thing I figured this town would come up with." She chuckled. "You could look at this way; at least they're no longer expecting the worst out of you."

Despite herself, Regina chuckled. "That depends upon who you ask. For a brief moment or two, I thought Mary Margaret was going to go into premature labor when she heard the rumor in the diner during lunch and came over to my table to confront me about it."

Emma snorted. "I can't believe I missed that."

"In hindsight, I probably should have recorded the scene to play back to you later." With a smirk forming on her lips, the older woman sighed, clearly fondly recalling the earlier scene.

"Hey," the blonde reached up, gently taking one of Regina's hands in her own, "are you really upset about this because, if you are, I can put a stop to it."

"I don't know." Regina gave the hand in hers a gentle squeeze. "Getting married again isn't something I've ever given consideration to."

"I can understand that, and I'm certainly not pushing you. To be honest, _I'm_ not ready to talk about that. The idea of getting married scares the hell out of me." The blonde blushed at her admission, giving a shy smile. "I'm still trying to get used to the idea of being settled somewhere, you know?"

"Yes," the brunette offered a soft, reassuring smiling, "_I_ can understand that." Regina sighed, slipping her hand from Emma's and leaning over to place a chaste kiss on the other woman's lips. "We'll save that conversation for _much_ later, if that's agreeable to you?"

Emma allowed a somewhat relieved smile to grace her face. "Yeah, I'm good with that."

"Good." Regina nodded. "And I'm fine with letting the rumor mill do as it pleases so long as it doesn't hurt our son, so I'd like to discuss this with him tonight. Can you and he be over by 6:30? I'll cook dinner for us."

"I think we can manage that."

"Excellent." The brunette leaned in closer, whispering into the sheriff's ear. "And, if I catch you so much as thinking about dating another while you're dating me, I'll destroy the both of you."

Emma stiffed at the proximity of the older woman, the huskiness in her voice, and the fact she was slightly aroused by the threat she'd just received. "Okay," she squeaked out.

Regina pulled back, standing back up and giving Emma a wicked little smile. "I'm glad we've got that all settled."

"Nope." The blonde shook her head. "We don't have everything settled." She stood, again crowding the mayor's personal space. "It's equal opportunity, Regina. If I catch you doing anything more than flirting with someone else, I'm taking you both down. I can handle someone looking, but I'm not okay with anyone else touching." She reached out, pulling the other woman in and kissing her a touch possessively. "I'm not into sharing."

"What a happy coincidence," Regina purred as she went in for another kiss. "Neither am I."

"_Now_ we have it all settled," the sheriff husked, going in for yet another kiss when the station doors threw open, banging against the wall, as Mary Margaret and David Nolan entered, Leroy and Mother Superior trailing behind them.

With a groan, Emma reluctantly pulled away to face the group stalking angrily toward them. "We'll finish this later?"

"Yes," Regina purred, turning to the angry mob with a calm, neutral expression.

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**Thank you for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.**


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